What it is: The amount of money Greene County officials hope to recoup by selling vacant properties that were part of the failed Jamestown development near Rogersville.

The county backed the 200-acre mixed-use development by issuing bonds in 2004 to help pay for streets and other infrastructure. Other than a handful of homes and a commercial strip center, the property remains largely vacant a decade later.

The county foreclosed on the property at a sheriff's sale Oct. 31 and now hopes to sell it — either as a single unit or, more likely, piecemeal — in order to pay off the debt.

"We're hoping to be held harmless in the end and to recoup the (full bond amount)," said Chris Coulter, acting county administrator.

Where did the debt come from? Greene County's involvement in the Jamestown development came in the form of a Neighborhood Improvement District (NID), an economic development tool authorized by state law.

After creating the NID, the county was able to issue bonds — essentially borrowing money on the development's behalf — that were used to fund roads, sewers, utility work and other infrastructure improvements in Jamestown.

The debt payments on the bonds were to be paid by new residents and commercial property owners in Jamestown through special property tax assessments. But things didn't go as planned.

Although the infrastructure work was completed, developer Stephen Cope and his partners were unable to sell the majority of the property, which includes about 100 residential lots and room for dozens of restaurants, retail stores and other businesses. Cope's development company and other investors failed to make the required tax payments to the county and eventually went belly up.

Left holding the bag, county officials persevered through bankruptcy proceedings and other delays to foreclose on the property Oct. 31.

How does the county plan to recoup its costs? Rather than continuing to assess a special property tax on the Jamestown properties, the county hopes instead to sell each lot at a price that covers the future bond payments, said Lee Viorel, an attorney in the office of the county counsel.

That means that, although the Neighborhood Improvement District will remain in place, new residents or business owners won't have to worry about making ongoing payments, which had been a hindrance during earlier efforts to market the property.

Soon after the sheriff's sale, the county began soliciting bids on the properties starting at $14,500 for residential lots in the Patriot Place portion of the development and $2.50 per square foot for all others.

Viorel said the county's target once all the vacant properties are sold is "kind of a sliding scale," but about $14 million.

Bond payments totaling about $19 million are scheduled through 2031, Viorel said, and the county is not allowed to pay off the debt early until "relatively late in the game." Instead, officials hope to sell the property and place the proceeds in savings, where even a modest amount of interest — just 1-2 percent — would reduce the amount the county needs to set aside.

"In today's dollars, we're talking about a $14 million sum, so that's what we're trying to recoup," Viorel said.

He said county officials also have discussed the possibility of creating a Community Improvement District that could assess a special sales tax in the area and serve as a back-up for paying off some of the debt. But there would have to be significant retail development at the property for that plan to become viable, Viorel said. "Right now, we're just in the infant stages of discussing that with the city of Rogersville."

What's the next step? The county essentially sold the Jamestown property to itself at the Oct. 31 sheriff's sale, but private buyers had the opportunity to try to beat the $13.6 million price set by the county.

None did, but Viorel said he and Coulter "have had contact with several interested parties" in the weeks since then.

"We're not at a level where we have written contracts yet, but we're going to try to continue those negotiations to see if we can get written contracts," he said.

Viorel said there's been interest in various portions of the property, including both commercial and residential lots, which are described briefly on the county's website at http://www.greenecountymo.org/jamestown.php. Contact information is included with the documents.

He said discussions with potential buyers so far have been promising but encouraged others to call if they have an interest in the property.

Viorel said that, while the county would like to sell the property as soon as possible, it is not under pressure to take the first lowball offer that comes along.

"We don't have to do that," he said. "The property has infrastructure ... They're going to have to pay a competitive price to get it."

Viorel said he met with Greene County commissioners Friday and asked for 30 days to try to work out a contract with one or more of the parties that have expressed interest.

If property remains that isn't under written contract by year's end, commissioners could hire one or more real estate brokers to help market the property, he said.

The commission paid to a broker would either drive up the price of the property or reduce the county's share, he said, so the goal is to get as much as possible under contract before then.

"It's the taxpayers' dollars we're talking about, so we've got to be careful ...," he said. "But we want to get money coming in so the commission doesn't have to dip into general revenue (to make bond payments)."